Only A Kiss
by r3tro Roxel
Summary: After all, isn't it alright to kiss your family members? S.Italy/Romano/Lovino Vargas X N. Italy/Veneziano/Feliciano Vargas WARNING: Incest and implied sex.


Alright~! I'm back, a month and a day after my last update! I was really in the mood for some Itacest, for some reason, and I had the song Mr. Brightside by The Killers stuck in my head... So, I kind of based it off the song, in a way. I already had this very loose idea, and I just decided to play off of it... Enjoy, and please R&R!

I own nothing in this story, the song is owned by The Killers, and the characters are owned by Hidekaz Himaruya. However, if I did own them, believe me... I'd be having a lot of fun with France nii-san right now.

* * *

**Only A Kiss**

_It started out with a kiss,_

_How did it end up like this?_

_It was only a kiss…_

_It was only a kiss…_

_-_

_Mr. Brightside by The Killers_

**Childhood**

"Onii-chan!" Feliciano shouted, his face brightening as he ran towards his brother. After being placed gently on the ground by Spain, Romano replied, mumbling back, "H-Hey, Feliciano…"

"Ah, it's so wonderful to finally be able to meet you, onii-chan!" The younger of the two cried as he draped his wrists across his brother's shoulders and kissed him gently on the lips. Romano's face flushed at the sudden action, but he didn't do much in response besides lazily wrap his arms around his little brother. "Yeah, sure…" The brunette mumbled, pouting. Feliciano giggled delightedly as he gave his brother a final squeeze before breaking the hug.

"Come on, onii-chan! Let's go play!" The auburn-haired boy suggested, suddenly taking Romano's hand and leading him away. The other gasped in surprise as he was jerked along, but followed regardless, his legs working hard to try and keep up with his younger brother's much faster pace.

Behind them, Spain gave a bemused chuckle, his arms folded contentedly across his chest. Shaking his head fondly, he walked over to sit at the small table he and Austria had reserved for this very meeting, this premature unification of Italy's halves.

"Kids are cute, huh?" He said, giving a small, joyful smile. Austria gave a quiet grunt in response, his bespectacled eyes focusing only on the crimson-bound book in his hands. Shrugging, for he was used to the other boss' quiet manner, Spain folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in his spindly metal chair, his feet propped against the table's edge to keep him upright. He grinned as he watched their two servants run about. Well, Feliciano was running – Romano was being dragged, stumbling and falling every so often, only to be helped up by his younger brother. Chuckling to himself, Spain reached forward to grab a fork off the table. Holding it in one hand, he used the other to flick the prongs absentmindedly, his eyes focusing once more on the two boys wearing identical maid outfits.

"Onii-chan, are you alright?" Feliciano asked breathlessly, his hand still clasped within his brother's. Romano only panted in response for a while, his free hand desperately clutching his chest as he gasped for air. He had never been exposed to such running, while Feliciano, on the other hand, got lots of practice fleeing from the harassing nations he was forced to deal with.

"I… I think so… C-can we slow down a bit…? I'm tired, damn it…" The brunette grumbled, releasing Feliciano's hand to fall dejectedly to the ground, his brother following suit, albeit much more gracefully.

"Of course!" The younger of the two said brightly, smiling as he took his brother's hand once more.

"Anything for my onii-chan!" The auburn-haired boy cried, giving his brother another kiss on the lips. This time, Romano blubbered a little, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, his face brightening. All Feliciano did was giggle.

Spain sighed contentedly as he watched the two of them interact, his eyes half-lidded, his fist propped up to rest against his cheek. "So cute…" He murmured dreamily to himself, his free hand lazily twirling a strand of his hair.

"Hey, Austria?" The Spaniard asked suddenly, still staring with adoration at the brothers.

"Hm?" The other replied automatically, turning a page.

"Would you care to trade servants with me? You get Romano, I get Ita-chan…?" Spain murmured, a foolish grin painted across his face as his eyes lingered a bit too long for comfort upon Feliciano.

"No." Austria said simply.

"I mean, it's just not fair you get the cuter one, while I get the lazy one… Please?" The dark-haired man begged, his attention briefly diverted from the two boys to Austria, his hands clasped in pleading.

"My answer is 'no', Spain."

Giving a heavy, dramatic sigh, which was laden with apparent sadness, Spain turned back around to stare at the brothers. As he did, he grinned amusedly to himself, shaking his head fondly.

Feliciano's lips were once more pressed to his brother's.

**Pre-Teen**

Even at the age of 10, Feliciano's face still obtained that child-like glow of happiness whenever he had the rare experience of seeing his brother.

"Onii-chan!" He would cry delightedly, and rush forward, arms outstretched in an obvious invitation to hug. Every time Romano met with him, he would always get the strangest sense of déjà vu, for every time, Feliciano's reaction to seeing him was the same – unabashedly excited and eager.

But, then again, it wasn't like Romano was unhappy to see him.

"Feliciano." He would say warmly, giving a small smile as he held his arms out to return the inevitable embrace. His younger brother would then slide his hands across Romano's shoulders to lazily hang around his neck, and Romano would follow suit by wrapping his arms lightly around his brother's waist, his hands clasped.

Feliciano would then lean forward slightly, almost going onto his tiptoes, to barely press their lips together, and Romano could always feel the other smile much too obviously as they kissed. Then, his little brother's hands would remove themselves from his neck, coming to rest familiarly on his shoulders as he was stared at. Romano would slide his hands to place them on his brother's waist, and they would stand like that for a while as they exchanged pleasantries and eased into each other's company.

Whenever their hands left each other's respective waist and shoulders, Romano couldn't help but gaze for just a few seconds too long at Feliciano's amber orbs, which were identical to his own. As he looked, he would see himself reflected in his brother's eyes, and he would wonder, "Why do I always look forward to meeting him so much?"

Little did Romano know that Feliciano was always thinking the exact same thing. However, what they didn't know was that what their thoughts really meant was,

"I always look forward to kissing you."

**Teenage**

When they were younger, the item of kissing your own brother had seemed natural, and there was nothing wrong with it. It just seemed like something you were supposed to do, as easy and relaxed as breathing. Everyone kissed their brothers, it seemed, and there was nothing wrong about it.

But now, at the respective ages of 14 and 15, the Italy brothers' raging hormones and newfound interest in girls had made the whole ordeal incredibly and unnecessarily awkward.

Romano was, of course, much more obvious about his discomfort, blushing and fidgeting the entire time. Feliciano, on the other hand, had always been so easygoing, always eager to gently kiss him, but now, their lips mere inches apart, even his cheerful younger brother was hesitating.

At an age where all forms of emotional expression were harshly criticized, the boys were incredibly nervous about performing such an act, even if they were family. But, feeling obligated to, they went through the motions anyway, albeit stiffly and formally.

"F-Feliciano." Romano would quietly stutter, the hint of a smile on his face, his hands clasped in front of him as he shifted his weight from his heels to his toes.

"Onii-chan." His brother would reply, his voice sounding almost relieved, and he would make a feeble attempt at the same buoyant grin he always seemed to sport when they were younger. But, they were teenagers now – almost adults – and they had no time for such childish antics. And then, the auburn-haired boy would step forward, his arms outstretched, his face sheepish and red, as though to say, "I know how this feels and how it looks, and I don't want to do it either, but… let's just get it over with."

Instead of wrapping their arms around each other in a comforting embrace like they used to when they were young, they would simply grasp the other's forearms and lean in to kiss each other's cheeks once. Actually, you could barely call it a kiss – all they did was brush lips against skin.

And then, they would break apart, their arms folded nervously and self-consciously across their chests, as though trying to protect themselves from something – critical words, no doubt.

Eventually, however, the tight grips they held upon themselves would loosen, and the conversation would flow much more easily, now that the awkward part of their meeting was behind them.

The main reason that the experience was always tormenting for them was the fact that now, they were beginning to show a more obvious interest in the opposite sex. Boys were supposed to kiss girls, not other boys, not your brother. And even if you did kiss a boy, you weren't supposed to kiss their lips – if it was a family member, you had to kiss their cheek or their hand or anywhere that wasn't their lips… right?

And if it wasn't a family member – well, neither Feliciano nor Romano enjoyed thinking about that. It wasn't right. Boys shouldn't kiss other boys, especially not their family members… Especially not their brothers.

"But…" They always thought afterwards, long after the two of them had parted ways, parted lips.

"What if you enjoyed it?"

**Adulthood**

Feliciano opened the door on the 3rd knock.

"Ah, onii-chan!" He cried joyfully, accompanied by a surprised gasp.

"Feliciano." Romano murmured softly, his eyes half-lidded with unconcealed admiration as he spread his arms as an invitation for a hug. However, his younger brother had beaten him to it, his arms wrapped tightly around Romano's waist, squeezing him.

"It's been so long, onii-chan! Please, come in!" Feliciano gushed, his face buried in his brother's chest for a brief moment before he broke away, eagerly beckoning the other in with his hand.

"Yeah, it has been a while…" Romano sighed, placing a hand on his hip as he surveyed the inside of his little brother's house, impressed with the much better state of things compared to his small residence in southern Italy.

Romano's vision went back to his brother, whom he now noticed had been staring at him oddly, and obviously for a long time. Feliciano's expression suddenly jumped from that of unconcealed admiration to a relieved, embarrassed grin, and he reached out an arm invitingly, his other hand busy rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Romano…" He giggled quietly, his face flushed with relief at the fact that, yes, it was his brother standing before him, at last. Romano smiled fondly back at him, and he strode over, wrapping his arms tightly around the other's waist. Feliciano's arms came to rest upon his shoulders, his hands clasped tightly behind the brunette's neck. Their bodies pressed close together, the younger's head resting comfortably upon the other's chest, Romano's face buried within Feliciano's auburn hair.

With a sickening, nostalgic lurch, Romano realized with a jolt that their positions were almost identical to those they so easily held years ago as children. Why did it seem so awkward now? Why couldn't they be as calm about it as they were when they were younger?

The older of the two released the hug slightly; just enough so that he could still keep his hands around the other's neck, but still remain in contact with Feliciano's small, warm frame. He liked the feeling of having someone to hold in his arms.

His little brother looked up from Romano's chest, his eyes glowing with happiness the same way they did back when they were young.

"I'm so glad you're here, onii-chan." Feliciano breathed, fighting the urge to smile hugely. Romano chuckled.

"Glad to be back." He whispered, grinning. He leaned forward slightly, silently initiating the standard greeting with which the two of them had welcomed each other with their whole lives. Suddenly, Romano became very conscious of his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and he prayed his younger brother couldn't hear.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, their lips touched. It was very soft, very brief, but both of them noticed it, although not without a little surprise. Their heads jerked back with shock, their faces darkened with blush as they realized they had finally performed the act they had so desired all these years. With identical relieved smiles, both of them pleased at the fact that their former uncomfortable feelings had disappeared over time. After all, it was their brother, so, it wasn't as though they were doing anything wrong… It was good to have family ties, right?

Romano wasn't sure whether it was him or Feliciano that initiated the second kiss, all he remembered was that, all of a sudden, without him knowing how it had happened, two lips were pressed against his, more forcefully this time, though still gentle.

He also remembered kissing back.

Their lips parted for another brief moment, their pleasantly surprised gazes meeting for a second before the contact was broken – eyes were closed as they leaned forward again.

As they stood, arms wrapped around each other, they tried their best to ignore the nagging thoughts in the backs of their minds – "Aren't we cheating?"

Yes, it was true that both of them had someone in their lives they could honestly say they loved, – Feliciano had Ludwig, and Romano had Antonio – but there was something about this, the two of them - brothers, family, equals - kissing in such a romantic way, which was powerful enough to make them overlook that fact.

After all, you're supposed to kiss your family, right? It was only respectful. Boys weren't supposed to kiss other boys, but they were family, brothers. Sure, maybe brothers were only supposed to kiss the other's cheek or his hand, not their lips, but… this seemed like an acceptable alternative. They saw nothing wrong with it, so why should anyone else?

As they kissed, Romano thought to himself, as a mild comfort – "There's nothing wrong with this… he's just my brother, this is perfectly fine… I do love him, yes, but… as a family member, nothing more. I love Antonio as well, but… for right now, I love Feliciano, too. Besides, this is only a kiss; it's always been that – only a kiss. It would never become something more, I wouldn't let it. I love Antonio too much to do that to him."

But, when Romano woke up the next morning, with Feliciano asleep in bed next to him, both their clothes tossed haphazardly on the floor, he knew he had broken his own promise. His heart heavy, Romano finally realized what had been plaguing him all these years.

It had always been so much more than just a kiss.


End file.
